NTN Bearing Corporation of America (NTN-BCA or NBCA, a subsidiary of NTN Corp., Japan; Tokyo: 5251R9N7) is fully absorbing and integrating all U.S. aftermarket and industrial operations of SNR Bearings.

SNR's U.S. automotive OEM and aerospace markets, however, will remain separate and continue to operate under the SNR-USA banner.

Formerly a division of France's state-owned Renault, SNR (Societe Nouvelle de Roulements, or the New Bearing Company) is gradually being acquired by NTN. It began with 33% ownership in 2006, progressed to 51%, and hit 80% by mid-2010.

NTN's stepped acquisition of SNR Roulements dates back several years.
SNR is the world's eighth-largest bearing manufacturer, supplying the automotive, industrial and aerospace industries. The company has five plants in France: Annecy, the headquarters; Argonay (high precision bearings); Meythet (roller bearings); Seynod (rolling elements, ball bearings, clutch release bearings, thrust bearings); Ales (ball bearings, automotive wheel hub bearings. And five plants in other countries: Bielefeld, Germany (linear guides); Curitiba, Brazil (ball bearings, tapered roller bearings); Turin, Italy (spherical roller bearings); Sibiu, Romania (standard ball and roller bearings); Atlanta/Smyrna, Georgia, USA (aerospace bearing maintenance and warehouse).

Pete Eich, NBCA President, said: "This is a great day for our customers. Authorized NTN customers will now have a single point of access to SNR bearings, complementing the wide range of premium NTN, Bower and BCA branded bearings already offered by NTN. We're excited to offer a new line of products, including Premier spherical roller bearings, MachLine machine tool bearings, and TopLine premium ball bearings."

The SNR band name will be used in the U.S. for various bearings, including its Premier and MachLine branded bearings. SNR Premier is a line of spherical roller bearings, with symmetric rollers and high load ratings. They are produced in Torino, Italy by ICSA, not only under SNR Premier but also branded for other manufacturers. The SNR MachLine angular contact ball bearings are for high-precision machine tool applications; they will be combined with NTN's existing line of machine tool bearings.

The company also noted the SNR lineup will benefit from NTN's vast sales organization, while both NTN and SNR customers will benefit from access to a wider variety of products. NTN has absorbed SNR sales reps and all NTN reps will offer all Bower, BCA, NTN and SNR branded bearings.

For now, NTN will continue to ship primarily from Chicago, Illinois and Norcross, Georgia, while SNR bearings will ship from its existing warehouse in Smyrna, Georgia. Eventually, NTN plans to shutter the Smyrna warehouse and consolidate everything in Norcross.

Earlier this year, NTN announced a deep and wide-ranging investment program for SNR.